Kristian Garic

Kristian: The NFL replaces one dumb rule with an even dumber one

by Kristian Garic,posted Mar 20 2013 1:07PM

The NFL owners eliminated the tuck rule today at the owners’ meeting. Thank God! It may have been the dumbest rule ever. I didn’t understand it anyway. It was also known as the “Brady rule.” Hardly anyone knew it existed until that infamous game between the Patriots and Raiders in 2002. Now, it’s gone. Good riddance.

The owners also passed a ban on offensive ball carriers that lead with the crown of their helmet in the open field on a defender. The infraction is a 15 yard penalty. Huh? Yep, the league just eliminated a dumb rule and replaced it with an even dumber one. I mean, you didn't see the "tuck rule" called that often...but the "helmet rule" could be called several times a game.

How can you officiate the “helmet rule?” It passed by a 31 to 1 margin. I think the team that voted against it should be rewarded with an automatic $5 million dollars in salary cap room. I’m not kidding. I’m waiting for the league to put flags on the uniforms next season!! It’s coming!

As a fan of the NFL, I want the officials out of the game as much as possible. This rule clearly places them in the middle of the action, potentially impacting the outcome of a game. That’s not what we want, is it?

We’ll discuss the rule changes today at 4:00 on SportsTalk with me and Bobby Hebert.

The brutality of the game is why I watch.and probably why I wont be watching much. These guys know what the gig is...so why all the lawsuits????

03/20/2013 2:34PM

goodall rules

Dear NFL fan base...welcome to Goodall land. Been there, done that.

03/20/2013 2:46PM

Past dumb

What do the owners drink or smoke before they come up with these new rules to vote on??

03/20/2013 3:16PM

NFL turning into sissy league,

so from pee wee ball to now, you were taught to run as hard as you can, put your head down, and run people asses over. now just dance around with your opponent.

03/20/2013 3:18PM

Concussion Lawsuits

The crown-of-the-helmet rule relates directly to concussion lawsuits and as a side effect will change the outcome of some of the games. You can not let the refs officiate intent and be objective. For those of you that believed that the Saints had a payto injure program, this new rule is just the other side of the same pillow.

03/20/2013 3:21PM

Officiating Intent

You can not keep letting the officiating of intent to continue to be in the referees hands. With the new RB rule, you are asking for the referees to officiate intent. When you officiate intent, the games outcome switches to the officials. When some teams are the most penalized, already, and some teams are the least penalized, already, the disparaging difference becomes greater with the new RB rule. Remove interpretation from all rules on the field of play. Give the refs less power to decide the outcome of a game and let them maintain order and safety by getting the calls right on the field of play. The players appreciate consistency of the officiated calls during the game and are less likely to act out during the game when fair play is maintained.

03/20/2013 3:41PM

Football Will Endure

Regarding the “crown-of-the-helmet hit” rule, I’ll have to disagree. The rule was implemented for a very good reason: player safety. In addition to cutting down on concussions, this rule could also minimize possible neck injuries or paralysis. Furthermore, the rule does not include incidental contact and will only be enforced in the open field outside the tackles. While some might wish otherwise, this is not Ancient Rome and these players are not gladiators fighting to their death. In addition to already having a very limited playing career, players have a life after football and should not have to risk permanent and debilitating injuries. We still have a great deal to learn about the prolonged effects of head injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. As such, anything the NFL, and nonprofessional football leagues, can do to minimize such injuries is a good thing. Lest we forget, how many more professional athletes, like Junior Seau and Andre Waters, need to die at their own hands before we consider this actuality? Despite the dire prognostications of some, the sky is not falling, disaster is not imminent, and the game of football will endure as exciting and dramatic as it has always been.

03/20/2013 3:46PM

No more open field helmet drops

Running backs use to breakdown/juke and then lower their helmet after the defender's split second of hesitation. This is not a bad rule at all. Defenders should be able to make open field takles in full confidence without worrying about getting speared.

03/20/2013 3:48PM

Crown-of-the-helmet rule should be subject to replay

Make the crown-of-the-helmet rule automatically reviewed for every time it is called. If it is not going to be over officiated, then there will be no real delays to any game.

03/20/2013 3:54PM

Review all helmet to helmet calls with replay.

No one wants to see anyone injured. We do not want to see outcomes of games decided by someone trying to determine intent of a high speed play. Now, why now replay review every call of this type and get it right while keeping players safe. We do not want to give the impression that some of the outcomes of these games are massaged, do we?

03/20/2013 4:08PM

Take the over that this rule is enforced more than 11 times.

Even if the rule does not include incidental contact as you say outside of the tackle box, the refs will throw flags for anything resembling the head moving down. It does not matter what the rule reads, the refs will throw the flag more than it is intended. The NFL estimated that the new rule would have been penalized 11 times for the whole season of 2012. I bet you that the over will exceed 30 times the rule is enforced in 2013 with a team or two loosing a game because of the new rule. This rule is another way for the refs to change the outcome of the game. The Gaming Industry has another avenue to impact games.

03/23/2013 12:00PM

To: Football will endure

Yeah and I bet you think ObamaCare is about making health care better too!!
Better wake up and smell the coffee, pal !
This has nothing to do with player safety……it's all about trying to cool down the attack lawyers!!
Please don't fallfor this kind of nonsense …...

05/20/2013 3:34AM

To: The Listing Above

People love conspiracy theories --- even in the NFL. Maybe aluminum foil helmets can protect players from the destructive effects of head injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.